Champs 2022 | Focus on young hurdlers reaping benefits for KC
Published:Wednesday | April 13, 2022 | 12:11 AMHubert Lawrence/Gleaner Writer
ONE OF the foundations of the victory by Kingston College (KC) at last week’s ISSA/GraceKennedy Boys and Girls’ Athletics Championships was the sprint hurdles.
For the third Championship in a row, Kingston College won two of the three gold medals on offer.
Kirk King, coach of the Purples in the sprint hurdles, says focusing on young hurdlers is reaping dividends.
Jaden Campbell and Taj-O’neil Gordon took the Class Two 110-metre hurdles and the Class Three 100-metre hurdles, respectively, to match the Kingston College gold medal haul in 2019 and 2021. Notably, Gordon follows Daniel Clarke and Ra’john Grey as the winner in Class Three.
Defending Class One champion Tajae Francis placed third this time.
At KC, the hurdlers start early. “If you notice, we have had three consecutive Class Three gold medallists and, I mean, the year that we didn’t have Champs, we would have had four because that was the year of Rahjon Gray, who won it the year before and he was repeating in Class Three that year. So we have a system of working with these hurdlers from a younger age. It has been working for us. We have been reaping success. I mean, myself and Mr (Rahnsomn) Edwards have crafted this system that is working well,” he outlined.
BOUNCED BACK
Campbell edged teammate Kahiem Carby by 0.01 in the Class Two final. Ejected following a false start in last year’s Class Three final, Carby bounced back from that disappointment.
“He had a groin injury just before Champs and it was playing on his mind and, to be honest, he anticipated because he knew that, without getting a good start, he couldn’t have beaten his teammate Clarke,” King recalled.
“It’s good to see him come back. He is very talented, very technically sound in terms of clearing the hurdles and very aggressive and the early part of the season, this season, he was doing well and the same groin injury reoccurred,” the coach said.
Carby was only selected for Champs after a solid race at the John Wolmer Speed Fest and a run-off at KC where he beat Clarke. “We had a run-off at school with Clarke and he beat Clarke”, King reflected, “and we decided to go with him instead of Clarke for the Class Two and it paid off. He almost won.”
Olympic gold medallists Omar McLeod and Hansle Parchment spent a year each at Kingston College. Asked if they inspire the present Purple hurdlers, he went back to 2009 and his first stint as hurdles coach at KC.
“Parchment was the decathlete and I coached him that year, so he came back to school this year and motivated the boys. King is grateful.
“It does a lot when they see him as a past student and when I mention it to them that I used to coach him, it gives them an added motivation to do well because they know that they’re in good hands,” the sprint hurdles coach noted.